Words of Stephanie's Heart
by mybrowneyes
Summary: She woman's up when Stephanie's deepest desire comes out. What will Ranger do when he hears? A Babe and Plum Family challenge.
1. Chapter 1

All belong to Janet Evanovich. I borrow them believing Stephanie and Ranger should be together-Lee Anne.

He saw the greyish smoke in the distance as his Porsche was steering in the direction. About two blocks away there was a flash and a large plume of black smoke causing him to accelerate. Slamming to a stop behind a Trenton cop car blocking the road, Ranger could breath. He saw her and Stephanie was safe.

Not only was Stephanie's white RAV 4 smoldering with broken windows, wet, and a flatten tire, but Morelli's red truck was being hosed by the fire department. It was behind Stephanie's pile of rubble having caught fire. Ranger was laughing at cop's luck.

"Cupcake, look at my truck!" He was angry. There was a whining tone crackling in his Italian voice. The Cuban man was expecting tears to follow.

"Gee, what about me? I'm in one piece and so is my skip." Her hands were in all directions and were close to connecting with the cop's face. "Who invited you anyway, Joe?"

The skip was handcuffed around a telephone, frazzled like he was stunned some time in the very, very recent past. He was shaking the cobwebs out in the haze around them.

"That's my truck!" Joe jumped up and down when a flame rose up from the interior and a fireman drowned it. Water was running out the driver's open door. "Look what you did!"

"ME! I wasn't driving a truck that was leaking oil and parked it next to a burning SUV!"

"You wouldn't be doing this if you married me! My truck wouldn't be smoking!"

"Fuck your truck and you! I broke up with you! I don't want to marry you, Morelli! Go tell it to the stripper I caught you with!"

"She's a pole dancer who teaches and I was getting information"

Stephanie made one huge leap right into Joe's face causing him to step back. "With your tongue down her throat! That's some interrogation!"

Ranger was standing there letting Stephanie get it all out only stepping in if the cop's Italian temper got the best of him. Waiting patiently as he could, Ranger wanted Stephanie to get the cop of of her system for good before he claimed her, finally.

Her cell phone was ringing. "Ding Dong the Wicked Witch."

"What, Mom?" She listen for a few seconds. "I don't care what the 'Burg' thinks! I'm not marrying Joe!" Not yelling another word, the phone hit the pavement shattering into pieces.

"Cupcake, you need to stop this. I'll get another truck and we can work things out. We can get married and settle down."

Inches from the stupid cop's face. "I don't want to marry you! Stephanie's hands were shaking and rattling Joe's head back and forth. "Get it through your head!"

Taking a Ranger sized step to save Morelli's head from being disconnected permanently from his neck. He froze.

"I want to marry him!" Shooting out, Stephanie's finger was pointing right at Ranger. Everything and everyone stood still with her words at the scene. Her blue eyes momentarily met Ranger's then looked away. She was mentally ripping her tongue out not able to meet Ranger's gaze any more. "How could I be so stupid?" Stephanie was berating herself so she didn't cry. Stephanie knew Ranger's thoughts on marriage and now he knew her deepest dream along with a good portion of the 'Burg'. What a time to woman-up and put on her big girl panties announcing her deepest dream to be with handsome Cuban man. In seconds, the grapevine would publicize it to the remainder not in attendance.

Joe was answering his ringing phone. "She doesn't want to marry me, Helen. She's right here," Joe mumbled handing his cell phone to his former girlfriend. A mocha latte hand grabbed it.

"Mrs. Plum, stop. Stephanie's marrying me." No other word, but a toss into Morrelli's watery truck. It was now or never to man-up where his Babe was concerned. And Ranger manned-up.

"That's my phone!" Joe yells going after his wet phone. "My truck!"

Standing there face to face, Stephanie had the doe-in-the-headlights look from blurting out what she wanted for so long and hearing Ranger enlighten Mrs. Plum.

"Marry me, Babe." He was gently holding her hand safe in his.

This was the moment. Finally. "I love you."

He couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Just as it should be. I love you, Babe. I have a ring at my apartment." He slipped the leather tie from his hair knotting it around her ring finger. "That's a ring holder."

Stephanie held out her hand admiring the bow on her finger. "It's perfect. Yes."

Chuckling, Tank was dragging the skip to his Hummer watching Ranger and Stephanie drive away in his Porsche. Cops and firemen were looking at each other forgetting about the smoldering vehicles digesting what was just witnessed.

"It's about time," Eddie Gazarra laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

_**All belong to JE. Thanks for all the reviews. This was working around in my brain. I read a prompt on 'Babe and Plum Family Challenges' awhile ago. Lee Anne**_

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"Ranger, this is gorgeous!" Stephanie was gazing at the large marquis diamond on her finger that replaced the ring holder.

He heard a 'but' there. "I can get you something else."

"It's perfect, but I liked my adjustable engagement ring. If my finger gets fat, it was adjustable."

"You can keep my hair tie. The jeweler can re-size your ring anytime if needed." An adjustable diamond ring just like out of a 'Cracker Jack' box or a gumball machine, he didn't think so; the almost flawless rock on her finger would buy lots of 'Cracker Jack' prizes or a lifetime supply of gumballs. "Only you, Babe," Ranger smirked against Stephanie's lips.

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Standing by the corner of the bar, he stood gazing at the beautiful woman coming towards him. Long trim legs showing below the hem of the short embellished cocktail dress against the glowing tanned skin. His wife was completely unexplainable at times. You think she's the good girl but once Ranger got to know her, Stephanie was everything. She's crazy. She's sexy. She's funny. She's honest and he never knew what his beautiful wife would do next. Carlos Manoso loved his 'Babe' and would never change her. She was perfect.

Tonight they were celebrating their second wedding anniversary. It was the best two years of his life with doses of 'Burg' crazy mixed in to it. Once the engagement ring was unlocked from his safe and on her finger, he asked when and where she wanted to get married.

"Maybe we can go off the grid. I'll be back," she told Ranger scampering off. Minutes later, she had a map that was being taped to the wall and a dart. "Let's see where fate takes us."

Throwing the dart, it stuck somewhere near Greenland. "I hear it a nice place, but I'd like warmer."

His eyebrow raised, Ranger nodded. "It is."

"OK, let's do the 'Burg' rule of the best out of three." Stephanie handed Ranger the dart which he flicked. It went right into the desert.

"Too hot and you did that on purpose." He got an eye roll.

"This is it. Our wedding location." She kissed the dart. "Give me something good."

Ranger thought they might be throwing that dart awhile until a wedding spot was chosen that was to Stephanie's liking and Luis would be patching the living room wall.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "Give some good Ranger karma.," she whispered. Tossing the dart it stuck in the blue water above the United States.

Stephanie studied the map walking up to it.

"Babe, I can have a plane ready to take us anywhere," he said but her focus was on the map.

"That's it! It's perfect!"

"The Great Lakes?"

"The island where there are no cars. It's like you are back in time at the turn-of-the-century."

"Mackinac Island?"

"It's off the grid."

He didn't have to think twice an island off Michigan was one of the last places he would expect anyone to find them and somewhere he had not been to before.

"We can elope!"

"Elope?"

"Yeah, leave maybe before anyone knows we are gone."

Ranger chuckled. "Babe, are we going to throw suitcases out the windows and slide down the drain pipes like in in the movies to a waiting car?"

"No, but do we have to tell anyone?"

This was Ranger Manoso who was the mystery figure to most except the woman he was holding. The one he was going to marry. Mentally, he was going over his schedule for the next few weeks in his head. The upcoming important client meetings could be rescheduled for this week and anything else postponed until after his honeymoon. "How about I clear my schedule and change a few meetings and we leave in a week?"

Stephanie was tapping on his laptop. "There is a three day waiting period for a marriage license," she advised turning around the screen. "How's this? This one inn has an elopement package."

Glancing over the website of the white Tudor style inn with pictures of the wedding grotto.

"Book it and anything you want. Go pick out a dress and we'll leave in one week. I'm going to reschedule some meetings. There is no price, Babe," Ranger whispered against the special spot below her ear and left Stephanie weak kneed after a ravishing kiss.

Ranger and Stephanie barely saw each other during the day as he was in and out of Rangeman and after running any open searches she was driving out of Trenton in the direction of Princeton shopping for her wedding dress and honeymoon attire. The afternoon before they were eloping, the engaged couple met Frank and Edna Mazur at a small eatery in Lambertville. They were the only two people in on the secret. Tank questioned Ranger about his schedule and his vague answer was "spending time with his fiancee."

An envelope with instructions was found in Frank's locked car. He and Edna would be picked up and flown to their wedding spot so her father could walk his daughter to join Ranger becoming man and wife. It was a surprise for his bride. Ranger never would have comprehended in a million years the uproar Helen Plum would cause. She was not happy who her daughter was engaged too and why the couple avoided any contact with Stephanie's mother.

A note was placed on Tank's keyboard before he was up and in his office. "Offline. Handle things. R.". Stephanie was waiting in the garage where the cameras were scrambled as in the elevator coming down from 7. He avoided any night crew taking the stairs down. The overnight and garment bags were in the Porsche. He timed it so the cameras came back on five minutes after they were on their way and trackers in his sports car and both his and Stephanie's cell phones went off. The private plane was waiting on a runway outside of Trenton and their next stop would be landing on Mackinac Island. After settling into their room for an early check-in, they were waiting for the registrar's office to open.


End file.
